-L. 

"■■■MM]?. 


M-PF*/S 


Ma 


Columbia  Slntomitp 

tntljeCttpofUfttigork 

College  of  3Pt)|>gictang  anb  gmrgeon* 
Hifcrarp 


INAUGURAL   ESSAY         


oisHiwrs  m^id  ires  m9HA8188§ 


SUBMITTED  TO  THE  EXAMINATION 


SAMUEL    BARD,    M.  D.    L.  L.  D.    PRESIDENT,    AND    THE  TRUS- 
TEES   AND    PROFESSORS 

OF    THE 

COLLEGE  OP  PHYSICIANS  AND  SURGEONS  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY 
OP  THE  STATE  OP  NEW-YORK  J 


PUBLICLY  DEFENDED  FOR  THE  DEGREE   OF  DOCTOR  OF   MEDICINE, 


ON  THE  SIXTH  DAY  OF    APRIL,  1819. 


BY  THOMAS  MIDDLETON  STUART,  A.  M. 


Pevsium  non  euro  legerehoec:  Laelium  Decimum  volo." 

Cicero  de  Orat.  lib.  2. 


PRINTED    BY    COLLINS    AND    CO.      189,    PEARL-STREET. 

1819. 


0, 


f4G 


.ST? 


Perlegi. — John  W.  Francis,  Prof, 


TO 

DAVID  HOSACK,  M.  D.  F.  R.  S.  L.  $  E. 

PROFESSOR  OP  THE  THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  OF  PHYSIC,  AND 
OF  OBSTETRICS, 

IN  THE 

COLLEGE    OF    PHYSICIANS     AND     SURGEONS     OF    THE 
UNIVERSITY    OF    NEW-YORK. 

THIS  ESSAY  IS  GRATEFULLY  INSCRIBED 

BY  HIS   AFFECTIONATE 

PUPIL. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Open  Knowledge  Commons 


http://www.archive.org/details/inauguralessayonOOstua 


JAMES  STUART,  M.  D. 

AS    A    TRIBUTE     OF    GRATITUDE, 

AND    AN    EXPRESSION    OF    FRATERNAL    AFFECTION, 

THIS    ESSAY    IS    DEDICATED    BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


AH  XSSJtfT 


ON 


GEMUS  AND  ITS  DISEASES. 


MAN  is  so  constituted,  that  what  is  general- 
ly esteemed  his  greatest  blessing,  may  become 
his  greatest  curse.  He  has  no  endowment  of 
body  or  of  mind  which  may  not  prove  destruc- 
tive of  his  happiness.  Strength,  beauty,  wit, 
all  that  can  render  life  desirable  or  useful,  of- 
ten, through  the  frailty  of  human  nature,  become 
sources  of  misery. — We  may  then,  with  pro- 
priety, in  the  following  essay,  whilst  we  at- 
tempt to  speak  of  Genius,  treat  also  of  some  of 
the  diseases  to  which  its  possessors  seem  pe- 
culiarly liable. 

Before  entering  directly  upon  this  subject, 
we  beg  leave  to  premise  a  few  things.  The  dis- 
eases of  Genius  have  their  seat,  sometimes  in 
the  mind,  sometimes  in  the  body  ;  and  often 
affect  both  body  and  mind.  In  treating  of  these, 


(     8     ) 

we  may  speak  of  the  mind  acting  upon  the 
body  and  disordering  its  functions,  and  of  the 
body  disordering  the  faculties  of  the  mind  :  in 
doing  so,  many  expressions  in  regard  to  the 
mind,  through  the  poverty  of  language  and  the 
imperfection  of  knowledge,  may  be  used, 
which  are  strictly  applicable  only  to  what  is 
material.  But  we  utterly  disclaim  any  senti- 
ment favorable  to  the  doctrine  of  the  materiali- 
ty of  the  mind — though  a  Priestley  has  graced 
it  with  his  approbation.  It  would  be  too  dis- 
tant from  our  purpose  here  to  attempt  a  regu- 
lar refutation  of  this  doctrine,  and,  concerning 
it,  we  would  only  observe,  that  if  the  mind  be 
materia!  it  must  form  a  part  of  the  body  or  the 
whole  body — in  other  words,  every  part  of  the 
body  together  must  form  the  mind,  or  some  par- 
ticular part  must  form  it,  as  the  brain,  or  heart, 
^c. ;  for  if  this  be  not  allowed,  the  immateriality 
of  the  mind  must  be  allowed.  The  first  sup- 
position, viz,  that  every  part  of  the  body  toge- 
ther forms  the  mind,  needs  no  refutation — the 
second,  that  some  particular  part  forms  it,  has 
more  plausibility  but  as  little  truth.  We  will 
only  notice  what  Priestley  says  in  favor  of  the 
brain  and  mind  being  one  and  the  same — for  if 
it  were  reasonable  to  fix  on  any  part  of  the 
body,  as  the  mind,  that  part  ought  to  be  the 


(  9  ) 

brain.  Priestley  is  pursuaded  of  the  truth  of 
his  doctrine,  "  because,"  as  he  says,  "  as  far  as 
we  can  judge,  the  faculty  of  thinking,  and  a 
certain  state  of  the  brain,  always  accompany 
and  correspond  to  one  another."  And  again, 
"  There  is  no  instance  of  any  man  retaining 
the  faculty  of  thinking  when  his  brain  was  de- 
stroyed. Moreover  as  the  faculty  of  thinking 
in  general  ripens  and  comes  to  maturity  with 
the  body,  it  is  also  observed  to  decay  with  it ; 
and  if,  in  some  cases,  the  mental  faculties  con- 
tinue vigorous,  when  the  body  in  general  is  en- 
feebled, it  is  evidently  because  in  those  parti- 
cular cases,  the  brain  is  not  much  affected  by 
the  general  cause  of  weakness.  Likewise  as 
the  mind  is  affected  in  consequence  of  the  af- 
fections of  the  body  and  brain,  so  the  body  is 
liable  to  be  reciprocally  affected  by  the  affec- 
tions of  the  mind,  as  is  evident  in  the  visible 
effects  of  all  strong  passions.  These  are  cer- 
tainly irrefragable  arguments  that  it  is  no  other 
than  one  and  the  same  thing  that  is  subject  to 
these  affections." 

In  answer  to  these  irrefragable  arguments, 
we  oppose  facts  to  assertions,  "  The  history 
of  dissections  proves  that  the  texture  of  every 
part  of  the  brain  may  be  morbidly  altered  from 


(    io   ) 

its  natural  state,  and  yet  all  the  faculties  of  the 
mind  remain  entire.'5  To  this  the  writings  of 
Morgagni,  Ronetus,  and  Haller,  bear  testi- 
mony.* "Portions  of  the  brain  have  been 
forcibly  detached ;  excavations  have  been 
formed  in  it  by  abscesses  ;  fungous  tumours 
have  arisen  from  its  surface  ;  all  its  arteries 
have  been  ossified ;  its  coats  have  been  va- 
riously diseased  ;  the  interior  part  of  the  cere- 
brum, and  of  the  cerebellum,  the  basis  of  the 
cerebrum,  the  pituitary  gland,  the  pineal  gland, 
the  plexus  choroides,  have  all  been  found  ex- 
hibiting morbid  changes  of  structure  in  people 
who  were  in  full  possession  of  their  internal 
senses."!  Instances  occurred  in  Dr.  Hunter's 
dissecting  room,  where  the  brain  was  found 
almost  entirely  converted  into  pus,  and  yet 
the  persons  in  whom  the  brain  was  thus  found 
diseased  had  suffered  no  mental  derange- 
ment.J  How  then  stands  the  assertion  that 
-there  is  no  instance  of  any  man  retain- 
ing the  faculty  of  thinking  when  his  brain 
was  destroyed  ?"     When  the  body  is  affected 

*  See  Morgagni  de  causis  et  sedibus,  Epist.  xi.  xv.  xx.  and  the  first  vol. 
of  the  *  Memoirs  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Manchester.' 

f  Crichton  on  Mental  Derangement,  vol.  i.  p.  341. 

%  Fordyce  on  Fevers,  vol.  a,  p.  ioa» 


(  11  ) 

with  palsy,  and  yet  the  faculties  of  the  mind 
remain  entire — and  when,  on  examination 
after  death,  disorder  of  the  brain  is  discovered 
to  have  been  the  cause  of  the  palsy,  shall  we 
say  that  the  faculties  of  the  mind  were  not  in- 
jured because  the  brain  was  not  much  affected  by 
the  general  cause  of  weakness  ?  There  is  scarce- 
ly a  disease  that  can  affect  the  body,  by  which  the 
brain  from  its  extensive  connections  must  not 
be  more  or  less  affected  : — but  who  that  has 
walked  much  in  the  paths  of  sickness  and  death, 
has  not  occasionally  seen,  where  the  powers  of 
life  were  fast  sinking  and  just  ready  to  fail,  the 
mind  acquiring  fresh  strength  as  if  already  part- 
ly relieved  from  its  clay  ?  While  many  of  the 
phenomena  of  disease  show  that  there  is  gene- 
rally an  intimate  connexion  between  a  healthy 
state  of  the  brain  and  a  proper  exercise  of  the 
mind — the  facts  we  have  adduced  prove  that 
the  brain  and  mind  are  not  "  one  and  the 
same,"  and  that  occasionally  the  mind  acts 
independently  of  the  brain.  In  proof  that  the 
faculties  of  the  mind  do  not  necessarily  decay 
with  the  body,  we  might  mention  the  venerable 
names  of  Plato,  Isocrates,  Newton,  Johnson, 
Burnet,  Burke,  and  many  others,  who  exhibited 
to  the  world  the  splendid  and  interesting  spec- 
tacle of  bodies  shattered  by  age  and  worn  out 


(   12  ) 

by  disease — with  minds  retaining  all  their 
greatness,  and  uninjured  amidst  the  ruins  that 
surrounded  them.  We  ask  those  from  whom 
we  may  differ,  if  any  instance  can  be  adduced, 
in  which  the  faculties  of  the  mind  have  decayed, 
while  the  mind  has  been  cultivated  with  the 
same  assiduity  in  old  age  as  formerly?  In  old 
age  stimulants  to  exertion  are  wanting,  there- 
fore the  mental  faculties  are  too  often  allowed 
to  remain  inactive  ;  then  indeed  they  do  decay; 
but  we  conclude  with  Cicero,  "  manent  ingenia 
senibus,modopermaneat  studium  et  industrial 
It  is  time  to  turn  to  our  proper  subject. 

An  inquiry  into  the  nature  of  Genius  is  in- 
teresting, inasmuch  as  it  is  an  inquiry  concern- 
ing that  which  is  productive  of  the  greatest 
benefit,  as  well  as  of  the  greatest  ill  to  mankind. 
Its  effects  are  felt  in  every  department  of  life  ; 
whether  it  reside  with  the  rustic,  making  him 
the  counsellor  of  his  hamlet ;  with  the  philoso- 
pher, placing  him  in  the  van  of  the  march  of 
science  5  or  with  the  statesman,  constituting 
him  the  shield  of  his  country ;  whether  it  glow 
upon  the  lips  of  oratory,  or  encircle  with  its 
halo  the  visions  of  poetry.  They  are  exhibit- 
ed in  the  prosperity  of  nations  and  in  their 
ruin.     It  clothes  its  possessor  with  that  mental 


(  m  ) 

majesty,  which  extorts  from  envy,  obedience 
and  admiration  ;  to  which  the  weak  look  for 
protection  and  the  brave  for  guidance. 

Thus  is  Genius  exhibited  in  its  effects  :— 
but  what  is  it  ?  Borrowing  partly  from  Dr. 
Johnson,  we  define  it  "  a  mind  of  superior  ge- 
neral powers."  We  cannot  suppose  that 
Genius  consists  in  the  superiority  of  any  one 
power  of  the  mind,  or  in  the  combination  of 
any  particular  powers  \  and  think  that  a  brief 
survey  of  the  subject  will  show,  that  as  the 
beauty  of  a  palace  does  not  consist  in  the  eler 
gance  of  one  pillar,  but  in  the  proportions 
and  skill  exhibited  in  all  its  parts,  so  Genius 
does  not  depend  on  the  excellence  of  any  one 
power  of  the  mind,  but  on  the  vigour  and  com- 
bination of  all  its  powers. 

Invention  is  the  criterion  of  Genius.  This 
seems  to  be  allowed  by  common  consent ;  for 
all  whose  characters  are  established  in  the 
world  as  men  of  Genius,  are  those  who  have 
invented  something  unknown  before,  or  invent- 
ed improvements  in  what  was  already  known. 
Horner,  without  a  model,  constructed  one  of  the 
noblest  poems  the  world  possesses  ;  Socrates 
invented  Moral   Philosophy ;    the   names   of 


(  1  ) 

Newton  and  Franklin  are  illustrious  by  their 
discoveries  in  Physics  ;  the  memory  of  Fulton 
is  immortal  by  his  application  of  the  powers  of 
steam  to  the  purposes  of  navigation ;  and  Sir 
Humphrey  Davy  has  placed  himself  in  the  fore- 
most rank  among  philosophers  by  his  im- 
provements in  chemical  science.  That  inven- 
tion is  the  criterion  of  Genius  being  granted, 
it  is  incumbent  on  us  to  show,  how  the  vigor- 
ous exercise  of  all  the  powers  of  the  mind  are 
necessary  to  the  act  of  invention. 

The  intellectual  powers  we  will  consider, 
adopting  Gerard's  division,  as  consisting  of 
Sense,  Memory,  Imagination,  and  Judgment. 
*  Sense  perceives  those  objects  which  are  real- 
ly existent,  and  actually  exhibited  to  the  mind.'? 
Memory  revises  "past  perceptions  with  a 
view  to  experience  of  them  and  to  their  rea- 
lity. Imagination  considers  the  notion  or 
thought  present  in  the  mind,  simply  as  it  is  in 
itself,  without  any  view  to  real  existence  or 
past  experience,"*  and,  by  association,  leads 
from  the  idea  present  in  the  mind  to  others 
connected  with  it.  Judgment  compares  ideas 
presented  to  the  mind,  discovers  their  relations, 
and  draws  conclusions  concerning  them. 

*  Sec  Gerard  on  Genius,  and  Beattie  on  the  Imagination. 


(    15    ) 

In  the  act  of  invention,  it  is  Imagination 
which  ranges  through  the  regions  of  thought, 
conducted  by  association  from  one  idea  present- 
ed to  the  mind,  to  the  various  others  connected 
with  it,  separating  notions  or  parts  of  notions 
from  those  with  which  they  were  formerly  as- 
sociated ;  again  combining  these  into  new 
forms,  with  a  semblance  of  creative  power ; 
like  the  Bee,  collecting  honey  from  every  flow- 
er on  which  it  rests,  however  various  be  the 
tint,  or  dissimilar  the  general  qualities.  But 
to  possess  that  superiority  which  will  lead  to 
invention,  imagination  must  be  attended  by 
enthusiastic  activity,  which  constantly  stimu- 
lates it  to  new  excursions,  quickly  presents  it 
with  new  views  of  objects,  rapidly  separates 
old  connexions  of  ideas,  and  as  rapidly  re- 
combines  them  into  every  form  of  which  they 
are  susceptible  ;  which  so  absorbs  it  in  the  con* 
temptation  of  its  object  as  to  prevent  any  in- 
terruption of  attention,  and  so  fires  it  in  its 
pursuit  as  to  render  it  careless  of  every  fatigue 
and  labour  it  may  undergo.  It  was  this  enthu- 
siastic activity  which  with  Archimedes  merged, 
the  noise  of  battle  and  the  terrors  of  death 
in  his  mathematical  speculations  ;  which  trim- 
med the  midnight  lamp — and  dug  the  early 
grave  of  Henry  Kirkc  White.   Without  activity 


(     16     ) 

of  imagination,  the  mind  soon  tires  in  the  in- 
vestigation of  a  subject,  and,  however  excellent 
and  new  may  be  the  associations  which  are 
formed,  their  excellence  and  novelty  rarely 
compensate  for  the  tardiness  with  which  they 
arise  ;  and  without  enthusiasm,  as  the  exercise 
of  imagination,  however  active,  is  still  attended 
by  much  fatiguing  exertion,  the  mind  will  soon 
relax  in  its  endeavours,  and  consider  that  un- 
attainable which  merely  has  not  yet  been  at- 
tained. It  is  the  observation  of  common  life, 
that  enthusiasm  in  the  pursuit  of  any  object,  is 
one  of  the  surest  tokens  of  ultimate  success. 

Imagination,  however  active,  can  do  little 
towards  invention,  unless  it  be  comprehensive. 
It  may  elicit  a  spark  which  will  dazzle  for  a 
moment,  but  can  never  produce  that  steady 
lustre  which  leads  to  useful  results.  It  is 
comprehensiveness  of  imagination,  which  gives 
to  the  productions  of  Genius,  that  richness 
which  appears  to  be  formed  by  a  happy  selec- 
tion from  a  vast  collection  of  materials  sub- 
mitted to  its  choice  ;  which  unfolds  to  the 
mind  the  view  of  its  subject  in  all  its  parts,  and 
in  all  its  connections  ;  which  enables  the  asso- 
ciating principle  to  traverse  every  region  and 
explore  every  recess  in  quest  of  its  treasures? 


(    17    ) 

and  to  pass  from  one  idea  to  another,  and 
through  all  their  modifications,  with  seemingly 
unlimited  bounds.  It  was  by  a  comprehensive 
imagination  that  the  great  poets  and  philoso- 
phers of  ancient  and  modern  times,  have  col- 
lected in  their  works  materials  from  every  re- 
gion of  nature  and  art  \  and  have  seemed  to 
hold  within  their  reach  the  universe  of  ideas, 
from  which  to  draw  all  that  was  conducive  to 
their  purpose. 

In  a  work  of  genius,  Imagination,  active  and 
comprehensive  as  we  have  described,  surrounds 
itself  with  a  lustre,  which  from  hasty  observa- 
tion conceals  the  operation  of  other  powers. — 
But  for  the  perfection  of  Invention,  the  aid  of 
other  agents  is  essentially  necessary.  Indeed, 
without  Sense  and  Memory,*  Imagination  itself 
cannot  act ;  for  it  must  be  from  some  one  ob- 
ject perceived  by  Sense,  that  association  be- 
gins, and  it  must  be  by  the  help  afforded  by 
Memory,  that  it  continues  its  exercise.  Sense 
is  the  fountain,  from  which  association  springs ; 
Memory  the  tributary  streams,  by  which  it  is 
enabled  to  roll  on  its  fertilizing  course.     The 

•  cc  Memory,"  says  the  author  of  the ■ Literary  Character,'  "  is  the  founda- 
tion of  Genius ;  for  this  faculty,  with  men  of  genius,  is  associated  with  imagi- 
nation and  passion  :  it  is  a  chronology,  not  merely  of  events,  but  of  emotions." 
Lit.  Character,  p.  127. 

C 


(     13     ) 

objects  of  Imagination  are  all  confined  within 
the  limits  of  acquired  knowledge :  these  it  may 
variously  modify,  but  cannot  go  beyond  them, 
It  is  impossible  for  it  to  act  on  those  things 
with  which  it  has  no  acquaintance  by  expe- 
rience or  information.  When  the  fervid  ima- 
gination of  Milton  mounts  to  heaven,  is  con- 
versant with'  cherubim,  is  immersed  in  the 
splendour  of  the  Supreme,  and  seems  to  leave, 
far  below,  earth  and  its  grossness,  still  we  find 
it  adorning  heaven  with  the  materials  of  this 
world,  giving  to  archangels  human  forms,  and, 
by  what  appears  glorious  among  men,  describ- 
ing the  glories  of  the  Creator  of  worlds. 

By  a  hasty  sketch  we  have  shown  how  far 
Imagination,  with  the  aid  of  Sense  and  Memo- 
rv,  can  proceed  in  the  act  of  invention.  Ima- 
gination collects  the  materials — but  the  choice 
and  arrangement  is  the  work  of  Judgment ; 
which  compares  ideas  presented  to  the  mind, 
discovers  their  relations,  and  draws  conclusions 
concerning  them.  Not  only  is  Judgment 
called  into  exercise  when  the  collected  trea- 
sures of  Imagination  are  presented  to  the 
mind,  but  the  Imagination  of  Genius,  even  in 
its  most  free  and  independent  excursions, 
must  still  be  attended  by  that  power,  which  de- 


c  i  ) 

taches  it  from  improper  and  useless  associa- 
tions, directs  it  to  the  track  most  conducive  to 
the  end  in  view,  and  calls  it  off  from  chasing 
the  cheating  shadow  of  a  cloud.  And  when 
Imagination  has  collected  its  various  materials, 
Judgment  is  the  spirit  moving  over  the  rich 
but  confused  mass,  educing  order  and  useful- 
ness. A  writer  of  much  Imagination,  not 
tempered  by  Judgment,  will  produce  extrava- 
gance and  folly :  but  where  sound  Judgment  is 
connected  with  an  active,  comprehensive  Ima- 
gination, the  happiest  results  are  to  be  antici- 
pated— the  production  not  only  of  what  is 
new,  but  what  is  congruous,  useful,  great :  for 
there  is  not  a  flower  that  strews  the  path  of 
Genius,  nor  a  column  in  the  proud  structure 
that  it  rears,  in  which  the  influence  of  Judgment 
is  not  concerned.  The  continual  influence  of 
Judgment  on  Imagination,  does  by  no  means 
injure  the  exercise  of  the  latter,  only  renders  it 
more  efficient:  the  ship  does  not  less,  feel  the 
useful  influence  of  the  breeze  on  account  of 
the  directing  helm  and  rudder. 

We  thus  conclude  that  Genius  consists  in  a 
combination  of  all  the  powers  of  the  mind.  It 
is  this  combination  which  gives  intellectual 
strength,  which  enables  one  mind  to  influence 


(    20    ) 

thousands.  In  proportion  as  these  powers  are 
fully  possessed  and  properly  combined,  so  far 
does  Genius  exist. 

Whether  superiority  of  Genius  be  natural  or 
acquired,  we  will  not  stop  here  to  examine,  nor 
pretend  positively  to  determine.  The  power 
of  education  daily  shows  itself  to  be  so  great5 
that  we  know  not  how  to  limit  its  effects ;  while 
the  records  of  men  of  Genius  exhibit  such  pecu- 
liarities of  character,  as   almost  persuade,  that 

"  from  heaven  descends 
v  The  flame  of  Genius  to  the  chosen  breasi" 

One  thing  must  be  allowed,  that  the  circum- 
stances of  life,  and  especially  of  early  life,  tend 
much  to  determine  the  characters  of  men. — ■ 
but  the  same  circumstances  produce  different 
effects  on  different  minds  :  a  peculiar  concur- 
rence of  circumstances  whilst  it  elevates  one 
mind,  may  degrade  another.  We  often  see 
men  labouring  under  circumstances  apparently 
the  most  adverse,  and  still  exhibiting  splendid 
marks  of  Genius — but  it  is  probable,  that  what 
appear  adverse  are  the  very  causes  of  the  dis- 
play of  Genius;  and  that  the  same  persons  in 
situations  seemingly  much  better  adapted  for 
the  exercise  of  talent  would  fall  into  obscurity. 
Had  Newton  been  a  printer's  boy,  or  Frank- 


(  21  ) 

lin  been  educated  at  an  university,  possibly 
neither  of  their  names  would  have  been  ren- 
dered immortal  by  their  discoveries  in  Natural 
Philosophy. 

According  to  our  description,  there  is  a 
complex  operation  of  the  mind,  in  every  ex- 
ertion of  Genius  ;  it  may  therefore  readily  be 
supposed  to  be  liable  to  disorder.  This  may 
arise,  1st.  from  inactivity,  Sd.  from  imper- 
fection, 3d.  from  artificial  means  of  excitement* 
4th.  from  excessive  exercise. 

1st.  In  some  respects,  the  mind  appears  to 
be  governed  by  laws  analagous  to  those  which 
govern  the  body  ;  for  as  continued  inaction  de- 
prives the  body  of  the  power  of  moving,  so 
inactivity  of  Genius  deprives  it  gradually  of  the 
power  of  acting.  To  this,  in  a  great  measure. 
is  to  be  ascribed  that  loss  of  mental  vigour, 
which  so  often  attends  declining  age  :  at  this 
period,  fame  ceases  her  allurements — ambition 
begins  to  lose  its  power — life  has  little  more 
to  promise — the  animal  spirits  are  languid — ■ 
infirmity  unfits  the  body  for  the  support  of  the 
exercise  of  mind — and  the  individual  gradually 
and  unconsciously  remits  that  exercise,  and  at 
last  falls  into  dotage.     But  not  only  in  old  age 


(    22    ) 

does  inactivity  show  its  deleterious  effects  on 
Genius.  We  often  see  or  hear,  of  men  who  in 
early  life  gave  the  fairest  promise  of  future 
eminence,  who  when  they  have  reached  their 
prime,  not  merely  have  made  no  progress  in 
mental  improvement,  but  have  gone  backwards, 
and  together  with  the  loss  of  acquired  know- 
ledge, have  lost  the  thirst  for  it,  exhibiting  the 
pitiable  sight  of  the  waste  of  talents  and  the 
wreck  of  mind.  This  may  sometimes  be  oc- 
casioned by  their  having  been  placed  in  cir- 
cumstances unfavourable  to  their  peculiar  turn 
of  mind, 

"  Many  a  soul  sublime 
"  Has  felt  the  influence  of  malignant  star." 

But  often  another  cause  is  very  evident — elated 
with  the  praise  bestowed  upon  their  early  ta- 
lents, they  conceive  that  without  regular  exer- 
tion, which  is  the  pabulum  of  the  mind,  they 
can,  by  their  superior  powers,  attain  any  ob- 
ject :  depending  on  this,  they  allow  inactivity. 
like  a  canker,  to  eat  out  the  soul  and  strength 
of  Genius. 

2d.  Although  we  have  described  Genius, 
as  formed  of  a  proper  combination  of  all  the 
powers  of  the  mind,  yet  as  the  mind  of  man  is 
never  perfect,  we  are  compelled  to  denomi- 


(    23    ) 

nate  that  Genius,  in  which,  however,  there  are 
some  imperfections — some  disproportion  in 
the  parts  which  compose  it.  Its  occasion- 
ally great  atchievements,  when  circumstan- 
ces have  conspired  to  repress  that  power  whose 
action  is  inordinate,  or  stimulate  that  which  is 
languid,  establish  its  claim  to  this  distinction. 
These  imperfections  are  sometimes  causes  of 
disease.  We  may  consider  them  as  circum- 
stantial or  essential.  Circumstantial  imper- 
fections, are  those  arising  from  a  peculiar  con- 
stitution of  the  man  of  genius,  but  not  implying 
any  deficiency  or  disproportion  in  the  powers 
of  mind  which  constitute  Genius.  Essential 
imperfections,  are  those  which  imply  some  de- 
ficiency or  disproportion  in  those  powers,  as 
when  the  action  of  Judgment  is  not  able  always 
to  control  that  of  Imagination. 

Among  the  Circumstantial  imperfections  of 
Genius,  we  notice  Timidity  and  Want  of  Per- 
severance. In  attempting  any  work,  Genius 
will  generally  have  an  extensive  view  of  the 
difficulties  to  be  encountered  :  it  will  measure 
the  region  to  be  explored,  will  mark  what  rocks 
are  to  be  levelled,  what  vallies  are  to  be  raised, 
what  wilds  are  to  be  explored.  After  such  a  view, 
constitutional  Timidity,  alarmed  by  the  obsta- 


(    24    ) 

cles  which  present  themselves,  too  often  dis- 
suades Genius  from  attempting  what  it  is  well 
able  to  perform.  As  Timidity  oft  prevents  the 
attempt,  want  of  Perseverance  oft  prevents  the 
accomplishment  of  great  undertakings.  Both 
are  productive  of  very  deleterious  consequen- 
ces. Timidity,  by  infusing  into  the  mind,  ca- 
pable of  forming  great  designs,  groundless 
fear  of  inability  for  the  accomplishment,  throws 
it  into  a  state  nearly  allied  to  despair :  Genius, 
parched  with  thirst,  sees  the  cooling  stream  roll 
before  it,  without  the  hope  of  ever  tasting  its 
refreshment :  and  shackled  by  Want  of  Perse- 
verance, must  be  the  prey  of  grief  and  chagrin, 
by  seeing  that  honourable  distinction  gained 
by  others,  which  it  failed  to  secure  when  al- 
most within  its  grasp.  That  the  feelings  of  a 
man  of  Genius,  in  such  circumstances,  will  be 
exquisitely  afflicting,  the  history  of  Genius  gives 
strong  ground  for  concluding.  Honorable 
fame  is  dear  to  Genius,  and  few  will  censure 
the  mournful  exclamation  of  Kirke  White, 
when  he  saw  the  grave  opening  to  receive  his 
body.  and.  as  he  thought,  his  dearly  earned  re- 
putation, from  the  world — "My  years  hence 
and  who  will  hear  of  Hcnrv!"  We  find  those, 
who  had  no  cause  to  reproach  themselves  with 
want  of  exertion,  and  who  had  accomplished 


(    25    ) 

great  designs,  yet  sinking  into  despondency  on 
seeing  themselves  surpassed  by  others.  He 
is  rare  who  can  comfort  himself  with  the  re- 
flection that  "  Sparta  has  many  a  worthier  son 
than  he."— "When  some  of  Morillo's  paintings 
were  shown  to  Castillo,  the  great  painter  of 
Seville,  he  stood  in  meek  astonishment  before 
them,  and  when  he  recovered  his  voice,  turning 
away,  he  exclaimed  with  a  sigh,  Ya  murio 
Castillo  /—Castillo  is  no  more!  Returning 
home,  the  stricken  genius  relinquished  his 
pencil  and  pined  away  in  hopelessness."  If 
such  be  the  anguish  of  those  who,  though  ex- 
celled, were  true  to  their  inspiration,  what 
must  be  his  sorrow,  who  sees  that  crown  grace 
the  head  of  another,  which,  but  for  want  of  ex- 
ertion or  perseverance,  might  have  bloomed 
upon  his  own !  Settled  melancholy  must 
often  be  the  effect  of  such  sorrow.  Observa- 
tion shows  the  effects  of  grief  to  be  debilitating 
to  the  whole  corporeal  system :  hence  the  tor- 
pidity, the  pale  countenance,  the  cold  extremi- 
ties, the  disinclination  for  muscular  motion  or 
mental  exertion  which  attend  its  victims.  From 
the  diminished  circulation  in  the  extremities 
and  surface,  arises  the  painful  sense  of  fulness, 
which  is  attendant  on  deep  sorrow,  as  the 
larger  vessels  of  the  body  must  thus  necessari- 

D 


(    26    ) 

ly  be  over-distended  with  blood.  That  there 
is  an  intimate  connexion  between  the  skin  and 
stomach,  is  a  principle  well  established  in  me- 
dicine :  the  action  of  the  vessels  of  the  skin 
being  diminished,  the  stomach  is  affected,  pro- 
bably through  the  connexion  of  nerves,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  the  internal  vessels  receiving 
an  inordinate  quantity  of  blood,  expose  that  or- 
gan to  still  greater  disorder :  and  hence  arises 
that  acute  pain  in  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  which 
grief  so  often  produces,  especially  in  nervous 
temperaments.  That  the  over-distension  of  the 
internal  vessels  is  concerned  in  this  affection^ 
receives  much  probability  from  the  observation 
of  Crichton,*  who  says,  that  he  has  seen  this 
kind  of  Gastrodynia,  in  two  instances,  followed 
by  haemorrhage  from  the  stomach,  lungs,  and 
uterus.  The  same  causes  will  produce  pletho- 
ra of  the  vessels  of  the  liver  and  consequent 
disease  of  that  viscus.  These  disorders  thus 
produced  by  grief,  re-act  upon  it,  and  aggravate 
that  dejection  of  mind  from  which  they  at  first 
originated:  for,  produced  by  any  cause,  depres- 
sion of  mind  is  one  of  their  invariable  conse- 
cjiiences.  When  added  to  original  grief,  they 
act  with  a  force  which  few  minds  can  withstand, 

*  Crichton  on  Mental  Derangement,  vol.  2.  p.  ioo« 


(  W  ) 

Deep  sorrow  will  take  so  firm  a  hold  upon  its 
victim,  as  to  preclude  from  his  thoughts  every 
subject  not  connected  with  his  unhappiness. — 
Life  has  its  shade  and  its  light ;  but  his  mental 
vision  is  active  only  in  its  darkness  ;  he  be- 
comes so  enamoured  with  misery,  as  to  flee 
from  the  comforts  of  friendship,  and  the  calls 
of  business  or  pleasure,  that  he  may  indulge 
his  gloomy  meditations  ; — the  sand  of  life  ebbs 
in  its  glass,  the  flame  of  Genius  quivers  in  its 
socket — he  dies! — the  pity,  if  not  the  contempt, 
of  his  acquaintance  !  This  is  the  melancholy 
effect  which  may  follow  Timidity,  in  not  at- 
tempting, and  Want  of  Perseverance,  in  not 
executing  the  designs  of  Genius. 

T«e  only  Essential  imperfection  of  Genius, 
^wKIch  we  will  now  cursorily  notice,  is  that  in 
which  the  Imagination  is  disproportionate  in 
its  action,  to  the  Judgment.  In  our  description 
of  Genius,  we  mentioned  that  the  speculations 
of  one  with  a  great  disproportion  of  this  kind  in 
the  powers  of  the  mind,  would  end  in  folly — 
it  has  often  ended  in  insanity,  as  the  records  of 
every  lunatic  asylum  testify:*  but  even  when 
existing  in  a  smaller  degree  it  is  often  produc- 

*  See  Rush  on  the  Mind,  p.  38. 


(     28     ) 

twe  of  baneful  consequences.  While  it  con- 
stantly exposes  its  possessor  to  errors  and  im- 
prudencies  in  conduct,  which,  in  a  well  propor- 
tioned mind,  Judgment  wTould  have  prevented, 
it  makes  him  liable  also  to  the  most  cruel  dis- 
appointments. By  a  morbidly  active  Imagina- 
tion, hypotheses,  which  have  but  the  semblance 
of  probability,  are  embraced  as  truths  ;  it  sees 
a  friend  in  every  smile,  and  hears  the  promise 
of  success  in  every  whisper  of  hope  ;  it  never 
supposes  that  the  day  which  is  bright  at  the 
dawn  can  blacken  with  clouds  ;  and  concludes 
that  the  attainment  of  its  object  of  pursuit  will 
be  as  easy  as  its  desires  are  ardent.  Thus  act- 
ing beyond  the  control  of  Judgment,  if  that 
power  is  not  altogether  dispossessed  of  its  seat 
in  the  mind,  the  consequence,  at  least,  must  be 
disappointment.  The  best  concerted  schemes 
are  often  thwarted,  well-founded  hope  is  often 
deceived,  then  how  frequent  must  be  his  failure 
and  dissatisfaction,  who  begins  to  build  without 
counting  the  cost-— who  has  never  considered 
that  deception  smiles,  or  that  friends  can  be- 
tray-—that  hope  can  be  illusive,  or  merit  en- 
vied. Chagrin  often  occurring,  as  it  will,  in 
the  paths  of  such  an  one,  is  apt  to  drive  him 
to  a  contrary  extreme;  some  having  deceived, 
he  supposes  himself  the  object  of  the  deception 


(    29    ) 

of  all;  the  world  seems  his  enemy ;  every  mis- 
fortune is  exaggerated;  falsehood  having  be- 
trayed him,  he  now  suspects  every  kindness, 
and  mistrusts  every  promise ;  having  failed  of 
obtaining  his  objects  by  not  employing  proper 
im-ans,  those  objects  he  conceives  by  some 
malignant  fatality  are  placed  beyond  his  reach: 
disappointment  preys  upon  him,  and  too  often 
produces  that  gloomy  melancholy,  with  its 
direful  consequences  on  mind  and  body  whicli 
we  have  already  described. 

3d.  In  a  state  exposed  to  vicissitude  and 
vexation,  encumbered  with  a  body  liable  to 
lassitude,  sickness,  and  pain,  Genius  is  often 
chained  in  its  exertions ;  no  wonder  that  it  hails 
with  pleasure  what  can  set  it  free :  shut  out 
from  the  paradise  of  its  meditations,  it  readily 
yields  to  any  influence  that  can  open  the  gates 
of  lost  happiness.  With  the  powers  of  his  mind 
languid  or  ruffled,  the  man  of  Genius,  to  restore 
their  activity  and  soothe  their  commotion,  too 
often  resorts  to  artificial  means:  alcohol  and 
opium  are  both  subservient  to  his  purpose. — 
We  will  now  only  notice  opium,  as  thus  used, 
and  some  of  its  hurtful  effects.  The  effects  of 
this  drug  in  exciting  the  mind  to  action,  is  pe- 
culiarly enticing,  especially  to  those  who  revel 


(   so    ) 

ill  the  regions  of  fancy ;  under  its  influence, 
tlie  storm  of  passions  is  hushed  to  a  calm — the 
clouds  of  despondency  dissolve  away — and  the 
mental  faculties  seem  to  acquire  new  strength 
and  splendor.  But  this  state  of  enjoyment 
does  not  last  long — the  charm  is  soon  broken, 
and  more  than  in  proportion  to  former  elation 
and  enjoyment  is  the  depression  and  misery 
that  follow.  This  is  according  to  the  experience 
of  all  who  have  observed  the  effects  of  opium 
on  themselves  or  others.  The  depressing 
consequences  of  each  dose  taken  is  a  new  in- 
ducement to  repeat  it,  and  at  the  repetition  of 
each  dose  habit  calls  for  a  larger  portion.  The 
deleterious  effects  of  indulgence  in  it,  on  mind 
and  body,  are  various.  The  effects  on  the 
body  are  dyspepsia,  and  all  the  consequences 
of  diminished  secretions.  "Probat,  ab  usu 
hujus  remedii  (opii)  diuturniore,  organa  chy- 
lopoiesi  et  sanguificationi  inservientia,  adeo 
debilitari  posse,  ut  officiis  suis  imparia  reddan- 
tur."  "Experimenta  Alstoni  opium  circuitum 
in  vasis  minimis,  priusquam  in  majoribus,  cohi- 
bere  probant"  "Secretiones  cohibet."  "Alvum 
constipate — Bard  clevirihiis  opii. 

Under  the   effects   of  opium,  the  body  is 
rendered  less  susceptible  of  external  impres- 


i    31     ) 

sions  on  account  of  the  diminished  circulation 
in  the  smaller  vessels,  and  this  perhaps  con- 
duces to  produce  increased  vigour  of  mind,  by 
preventing  interruption  of  thought  When 
those  effects  have  ceased,  the  circulation  re- 
turning to  the  smaller  vessels,  will  render  the 
nerves  connected  with  them  morbidly  sensible 
and  hence  more  liable  to  violent  impressions. 
We  now  perceive  how  the  continued  use  of 
opium  may  produce  disorder  of  mind : — the 
viscera  of  the  body  are  diseased,  which,  as  we 
before  observed,  produces  a  depressing  affec- 
tion of  the  mind;  the  nervous  system  is  irrita- 
ble, and  the  mind  often  sympathizes  in  its  ir- 
ritations ;  the  mind  is  often  at  the  height  of  joy, 
or  in  the  depth  of  misery,  through  the  excite- 
ment of  opium  or  the  want  of  it ;  and  Rush  ob- 
serves that  frequent  and  rapid  transitions  from 
one  subject  to  another  is  a  cause  of  intellectual 
derangement.  These  combined  consequen- 
ces, if  they  do  not  produce  Mania,  often  pro- 
duce that  modification  of  it,  generally  called 
Hypochondriasis,  or  as  we  think  more  proper- 
ly styled  by  Rush,  Tristimania.  Perhaps  it  is 
scarcely  affirming  too  much  when  we  say,  that 
after  a  person  has  long  indulged  in  the  use  of 
opium,  whenever  he  is  not  under  its  inebriating 
influence,  that  is,  whenever  he  is  himself,  his 


(    32     ) 

mind  is  more  or  less  deranged,  for  it  is  then 
deprived  of  its  powers  of  action,  and  sees  ob- 
jects in  a  false  light. 

4th.  We  will  next  attend  to  the  diseases  of 
Genius,  arising  from  excessive  exercise.  The 
mind  as  well  as  the  body,  is  rendered  by  pro- 
per exercise  more  strong  and  healthy;  but  is 
liable  to  much  harm,  from  exertion  very  violent 
or  too  long  continued.  As  the  mind  is  affected 
by  fatigue  of  body,  so  is  the  body  by  fatigue  of 
mind.  Men  of  Genius,  who,  aided  by  industry, 
are  enabled  to  make  deep  researches  and  take 
comprehensive  views  in  science ;  to  range 
among  objects  which  inferior  minds  dare  not 
attempt,  are  too  apt  to  exert  the  mind  to  excess. 
Bodily  feeling  is  lost  in  the  ardor  and  intensity 
of  intellectual  exertion,  and  it  is  not  till  the 
mind  has  in  some  measure  attained  its  end, 
and  has  begun  to  rest  from  its  labour,  that  the 
hurtful  effects  on  the  body  are  perceived :  then 
is  felt  langour,  depression,  anxiety  and  restless- 
ness, in  proportion  as  the  mind  has  been  labo- 
riously employed.  Excessive  exertion  of  mind, 
long  continued  or  often  repeated,  soon  affects 
the  organs  of  digestion ;  and  hence  frequently 
originates  that  distressing  mental  complaint 
well  denominated  Tristimania. 


(    S3    ) 

In  any  great  exertion  of  the  mental  faculties, 
there  appears  to  be  a  considerable  flow  of  blood 
to  the  head,  occasioning  there  some  degree  of 
congestion,*  as  is  evident  from  the  head-ache, 
vertigo,  redness  of  the  face  and  eyes,  which 
occur  in  debilitated  persons  from  a  very  slight 
exertion  of  mind,  and  in  healthy  persons,  when 
the  exertion  has  been  uncommonly  great. — 
This  flow  of  blood  to  the  head,  acting  as  a  pre- 
ternatural stimulus  to  the  blood-vessels  of  the 
brain,  is  followed  by  indirect  debility  of  th© 
brain.  Through  the  connexion  that  exists  be- 
tween the  different  parts  of  the  body,  its  other 
organs  will  sympathize  in  this  debility  :  which 
also  is  partly  the  cause  of  that  mental  depres- 
sion and  anxiety  which  attends  disease  of  the 
body  from  too  great  exertion  of  mind;  for  as 
the  perceptions  of  external  objects  are  convey. 
ed  to  the  mind,  through  the  medium  of  the 
nerves  and  brain,  these  being  in  a  disordered 
state,  must  generally  affect  the  functions  of  the 
mind. 

Moreover,  debility  of  body  from  mental  ex- 
ertion, seems  also  to  arise  from  this,  that  while 
there  is  a  preternatural  flow  of  blood  to  the 

*  Crichton  on  Mental  Derangement,  vol.  a.  p.  29. 
E 


{    34    ) 

brain,  the  secretions  of  the  body  in  general  are 
lessened;  the  organs  of  digestion  and  chylifi- 
cation  are  deprived  of  their  proper  action,  as 
the  diseases  of  studious  men  plainly  evince  ; 
the  intestinal  canal  loses  its  due  irritability,  for 
it  is  found  that  cathartic  medicines  are  much 
slower  in  their  operation  on  one  who  is  enga- 
ged in  study,  than  on  another  whose  mind  is 
unoccupied. 

The  body  is  also  weakened  by  loss  of  sleep, 
which  is  often  the  effect  of  intense  application 
of  mind  to  any  subject ;  for  it  is  found,  that 
when  the  attention  has  been  very  much  enga- 
ged on  any  particular  object,  the  associations 
thereby  excited,  continue  to  act,  long  after  all 
voluntary  exertions  of  attention  have  ceased : 
every  one  must  have  observed  this.  Boerhaave 
mentions,  that  having  been  exercised  with  in- 
tense thought  during  a  whole  night  on  a  serious 
subject,  he  did  not  sleep  for  two  weeks,  and 
during  that  time  was  perfectly  indifferent  to 
every  thing  around  him.  Zimmerman  in  his 
work  on  Experience  in  Physic,  mentions  the 
case  of  a  young  man,  which  strongly  exempli- 
fies the  hurtful  effects  of  intense  study.  This 
person  engaged  very  ardently  in  the  study  of 
Metaphysics,  and  after  combatting  by  increased 


(    35    ) 

exertion,  an  inertness  of  mind,  which  he  per- 
ceived coming  upon  him,  lost  at  last  the  exer- 
cise of  every  mental  faculty  while  his  bodily 
health  was  much  injured  ;  after  sometime,  his 
body  recovered  its  wonted  health,  but  his  men- 
tal disease  continued  for  a  year;  "without 
being  deaf  he  seemed  not  to  hear,  without  being 
blind  he  appeared  not  to  see,  without  being 
dumb  he  did  not  speak."  He  became  after- 
wards an  eminent  philosopher.  Many  instan- 
ces might  be  adduced,  in  which  intellectual  ex- 
ertion  has  proved  destructive  of  life.  Too  fre- 
quent is  the  melancholy  record  of  Genius  snatch- 
ed from  the  hopes  of  friends  and  the  world, 
when  its  budding  flower  just  began  to  give  pro- 
mise of  the  rich  fruit  that  would  be  produced. 
Were  bodily  disease  the  only  evil  resulting  from 
over-exercise  of  Genius,  it  might  admit  of 
question,  whether,  as  life  is  short  and  uncertain 
at  best,  it  were  not  better,  in  order  to  make 
greater  improvement  in  a  shorter  time,  even 
like  Kirke  White — to  die  :  but  sad  experience 
shows  that  not  only  the  body  but  the  mind  also 
is  diseased  by  its  own  exertions. 

One  disease  of  the  mind  thus  arising  and 
intimately  connected  with  the  corporeal  affec- 
tions already  noticed,  is  Tristimania.    This  dis- 


(    36    ) 

ease  of  the  mind,  often,  perhaps  it  is  better  to 
say  generally,  arises  from  disease  of  the  diges- 
tive organs.  Why  disorder  of  those  organs  so 
generally  produces  this  distressing  complaint, 
may  be  explained  in  the  following  manner : — 
The  nerves  of  the  stomach  and  parts  connect- 
ed with  it,  are  subject  to  impressions  of  a  pecu- 
liar kind,  but  which  are  never  so  powerful  as 
to  attract  any  particular  attention  of  the  mind 
to  them  ;  but  when  these  organs  are  diseased, 
unaccustomed  impressions  are  made  upon  their 
nerves,  both  by  the  disease  of  the  parts  them- 
selves, and  by  the  aliment  taken  into  the  sto- 
mach not  having  undergone  the  proper  process 
of  digestion.  Moreover,  while  new  impressions 
are  thus  made  on  the  nerves  of  the  digestive 
organs,  these  new  impressions  are  transmitted 
to  the  brain  with  more  force  than  the  old  ones 
were  wont  to  be,  on  account  of  the  excitability 
produced  in  the  brain,  from  the  preternatural 
stimulus  applied  to  it,  by  the  inordinate  flow  of 
blood  thereto,  which  we  before  remarked  as  a 
consequence  of  intense  study.  The  mind  being 
acted  upon  by  these  impressions,  which  are 
new,  from  the  unnatural  state  of  the  digestive 
organs  and  of  the  stimuli  applied  to  them, 
which  are  strong,  from  the  peculiarly  irritable 
condition  of  the  brain,  and  which  are  often 


(     37     ) 

painful ;  is  alarmed,  and  not  guided  by  expe- 
rience in  referring  them  to  their  proper  cause, 
is  often  led  to  assign  the  most  absurd.  Hence 
the  numerous  anecdotes  which  are  related  of 
persons  supposing  they  had  living  animals  with- 
in them,  that  they  had  been  changed  into  wood, 
glass,  #)C.  that  they  had  been  poisoned,  or 
changed  into  animals  of  a  different  species. — 
We  will  not  intrude  a  repetition  of  these.  From 
no  disease  does  man  suffer  more  than  from 
that  whose  cause  we  have  just  endeavoured  to 
explain.  During  its  paroxysms  (for  it  is  ob- 
served to  have  paroxysms)*  all  the  faculties  of 
the  mind  cease  their  useful  action  and  are  ex- 
ercised with  the  most  severe  suffering ;  Genius 
loses  its  pre-eminence,  and  the  torment  of  the 
patient  is  such,  that  he  often  wishes  for,  and 
often  seeks  death  as  a  relief.  Tristimania,  as 
well  as  that  other  form  of  mental  disease  which 
we  shall  presently  mention,  often  terminates 
in  general  intellectual  derangement,  which  per- 
haps always  precedes  suicide. 

The  next  disease  which  we  notice,  as  aris- 
ing from  excessive  exercise  of  the  mental  fa- 
culties, is  that  which  is  caused  by  intense  study 

*  See  Rush  on  the  Mind,  p.  38. 


(    38     ) 

upon  a  particular  subject,  the  fall  comprehen- 
of  which  may  be  within  the  scope  of  human  in- 
tellect, but  is  oftener  beyond  it.  Mental  per- 
ceptions appear  to  have  corresponding  senso- 
sorial  impressions,  which  are  transmitted  to  the 
extremities  of  different  nerves  with  a  force  pro- 
portioned to  the  vividness  of  the  mental  per- 
ceptions. When  the  extremities  of  nerves  are 
strongly  impressed,  we  are  liable  to  ascribe  the 
impression  to  external  objects,  through  the 
dictates  of  experience;  so  a  person  of  full  ha- 
bit stooping  down,  and  thereby  occasioning 
some  congestion  of  blood  in  the  vessels  of  the 
head,  which  produces  an  unusual  impression 
upon  the  optic  nerve,  is  led  to  believe  the  spots 
Sjc.  which  he  sees,  to  be  objects  without  him, 
until  better  informed.  Now  the  brain  being 
in  a  state  of  excitement  from  intense  study,  and 
receiving  repeated  impressions  from  ^)ne  par- 
ticular set  of  notions,  indulged  by  the  mind,  it 
is  easy  to  conceive  that  these  impressions  may 
at  last,  acquire  a  vividness  unnatural  to  any 
but  those  received  from  external  objects  ;  and 
hence  the  subject  of  such  impressions,  is  led 
to  believe  in  the  real  existence  of  that  which 
has  a  being  only  in  his  own  thoughts.  Parti- 
cularly is  this  apt  to  be  the  case,  when  the 
subject  of  study  is  one  beyond  the  reach  of  hu- 


{    39    ) 

man  capacity.  The  exertion  of  the  mind  must 
be  in  proportion  to  the  difficulty  of  the  subject ; 
but  when  that  is  incomprehensible,  the  mind 
violently  exerted  enjoys  little  rest  from  that  ex- 
ertion ;  once  ardently  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of 
any  object,  it  rarely  ceases  pursuit  till,  in  some 
measure,  it  has  attained  its  end :  when  that  end 
is  unattainable,  its  strenuous,  constant,  and  vain 
endeavours  must  produce  a  state  of  brain,  pe- 
culiarly liable  to  mental  illusion.  Crichton, 
vol.  2.  p.  65,  after  having  adduced  a  number 
of  examples  illustrative  of  delirium  produced 
by  intense  application  to  subjects  of  study 
which  give  an  extraordinary  degree  of  force  to 
imagination,  observes,  "the  examples  which 
have  been  brought  forward  are  surely  quite 
sufficient  to  prove  the  melancholy  truth  of  the 
hypothesis  laid  down,  that  representations  of 
the  mind,  when  frequently  renewed  by  acts  of 
the  imagination,  at  last  acquire  a  degree  of 
vividness  which  surpassess  those  derived  from 
external  objects ;  and  as  the  principal  quality 
of  a  mental  perception,  or  representation, 
which  makes  us  believe  in  the  reality  of  the  ob- 
ject or  objects  which  it  represents,  is  the  clear- 
ness of  its  parts,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  men  of 
Genius,  who  often  confine  their  attention  to 
one  branch  of  study,  should  be  more  exposed 


(    40     ) 


V. 


to  such  illusions  than  any  other  class  of  people. 
Hence  we  find  persons  who  have  engaged  in 
the  study  of  the  Trinity,  with  a  desire  of  com- 
prehending the  manner  of  the  union  of  three 
persons  in  one  Godhead  (a  doctrine  which 
though  written  with  a  sun-beam  in  scripture, 
still  we  cannot  hope  to  comprehend)  have  fre- 
quently supposed  themselves  to  be  one  of  the 
Trinity.  The  intense  study  of  other  subjects 
connected  with  the  Christian  religion,  which 
are  given  us  as  objects  of  faith,  which  have 
testimony  of  their  divine  origin,  but  which 
while  the  mind  is  veiled  by  its  clay,  must  re- 
main mysterious,  have  produced  a  similar  effect. 
More  than  one  person  by  vainly  endeavouring 
to  ascertain  the  precise  time  when  the  Mille- 
nium should  arrive,  have  had  all  the  faculties  of 
mind  so  absorbed  in  its  contemplation  as  to  be 
applied  to  nothing  else  ;  and  have  had  those 
faculties  so  deranged,  as  with  a  presumption  of 
prescience  to  fix  the  date  of  its  arrival  or  de- 
clare that  it  was  already  at  hand.  The  Rev. 
John  Mason,  of  Water  Stratford,  near  Bucking- 
ham, Eng.  died  fully  persuaded  that,  as  the 
Elias,  he  had  a  divine  mission  from  Jesus,  to 
announce  the  approach  of  the  Millenium,  which 
wras  to  begin  in  his  neighbourhood.  Professor 
Gruner,  of  Jena,  mentions  the  case  of  a  student 


(  41  } 

of  Theology,  at  Leipsic,  who  from  intense  study 
of  the  Revelations  of  St.  John,  had  his  intellects 
so  disordered  as  to  consider  himself  divinely 
inspired,  and  who  at  last  became  so  deranged 
as  to  murder  his  father.  From  the  same  source 
are  to  be  derived  the  dreams  of  Baron  Sweden- 
borg,  and  of  the  amiable  St.  Theresa  of  Spain. 
The  Christian  religion  stands  unreproached  by 
any  of  these  consequences  ;  it  never  produced 
them.  They  were  the  result  of  an  attempt  to 
learn  that  which  it  never  taught.  Its  doctrines 
sincerely  and  humbly  received  are  the  surest 
guards  against  mental  disease  :  the  subject  of 
them  is  enabled  to  stand  unchanged  amid  the 
changes  of  the  world — amid  its  convulsions 
unshaken  ;  to  bear  prosperity  with  equanimity, 
and  adversity  with  fortitude  ;  to  bound  joy 
within  its  due  limits,  and  to  restrain  grief  from 
excess;  to  fix  hope  on  its  proper  object,  and  to 
lose  fear  in  the  confidence  of  mercy. 

In  the  study  of  all  arts  and  sciences,  the  spe- 
cies of  mental  disease  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
has  been  produced  by  similar  causes  ;  by  at- 
tempts to  discover  that  which  is  not  discover- 
able, to  know  what  cannot  be  known.  Perpe- 
tual motion,  the  Quadrature  of  the  Circle,  and 


(    42     ) 

the  Philosopher's  Stone,  have  destroyed  more 
than  one  mind. 

For  interesting  cases  illustrative  of  Tristima- 
nia,  and  of  the  last-mentioned  mental  disease, 
which  falls  under  Rush's  description  of  Ame- 
nomania — we  refer  to  the  writings  of  that 
great  man,  and  to  Crichton  on  Mental  Derange- 
ment. 

In  closing  our  subject  we  would  mention  a 
few  means  which  appear  useful  in  preventing 
diseases  of  Genius.  As  in  the  body,  so  in  the 
mind,  different  persons  are  so  differently  con- 
stituted, that  what  would  be  excessive  exercise 
in  one,  would  be  moderate  in  another :  we 
cannot  establish  any  standard  in  this  respect. 
It  is  evident  that  to  prevent  disease  from  ex- 
ertion of  genius,  we  must  prevent  too  great  ex- 
ertion. Our  feelings  must  be  our  guide  in  this  ; 
and  a  sense  of  bodily  fatigue,  weariness,  a  kind 
of  fulness  and  tension  of  the  forehead,  often 
producing  severe  head-ache,  are  faithful  moni- 
tors that  the  mind  needs  rest  and  relaxation. 
When  Buffon  was  absorbed  on  a  subject  which 
presented  great  objections  to  his  opinions,  he 
felt  his  head  burn,  and  his  countenance  became 


(    43     ) 

flushed  ;  and  this  was  a  warning  to  him  to  sus- 
pend his  attention.  A  person  deeply  engaged 
in  study  may  not  attend  to  these  feelings  ;  but 
this  inattention  arises  from  no  idea  of  danger 
having  been  associated  with  them.  Once  as- 
sociate strongly  with  them  the  idea  of  danger, 
and  that  too  of  the  most  awful  kind,  and  he 
will  easily  cease  mental  exertion  on  their  ap- 
proach. Studious  men,  when  they  are  con- 
scious of  the  feelings  we  have  mentioned,  often 
consider  them  as  the  effects  of  indolence  and 
endeavour  to  shake  them  off  by  increased  ex- 
ertion: but  let  them  remember  that  they  thus 
endanger  not  only  bodily  health,  but  also  the 
proper  exercise  of  every  useful  faculty  of  mind. 
This  weariness  and  sense  of  fatigue  is  widely 
different  from  that  sluggishness  and  unwilling- 
ness for  exertion  which  attend  the  gross  and 
sensual — those  whose  aim  is  fixed  on  nothing 
great  in  attempt,  or  noble  in  accomplishment. 
Their  fatigue  is  weariness  before  labour :  like 
some  domestic  fowl,  unwarily  raised  into  air, 
which  Haps  its  heavy  pinions  for  a  moment 
and  then  drops  to  its  accustomed  level — they 
require  constant  incentive  to  keep  them  on 
the  wing :  while  those  to  whom  we  recom- 
mend caution,  are  like   some  noble  bird  of 


(     44     ) 

heaven,  stretching  its  flight  towards  ethe- 
real regions,  which  soars  and  soars,  uncon- 
scious of  fatigue  and  reckless  of  danger,  till 
it  dies  in  the  clouds. 

Another  means  of  preventing  disease  from 
over-exercise  of  mind,  is  to  have  several  ob- 
jects of  study,  which,  if  they  do  not  become 
main  objects,  may  serve  for  amusement  as 
well  as  instruction,  for.  as  Crichton  seems  well 
to  have  observed,  -when  the  objects  of  study 
are  numerous  and  do  not  belong  to  one  sub- 
ject only,  the  habit  of  easily  passing  from  one 
association  of  ideas  to  another  increases  ;  and 
thus  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind  have  a  more 
equal  degree  of  exercise.5'  Change  of  em- 
ployment of  either  mind  or  body  relieves  fa- 
tigue. 

The  studious  man  of  Genius  should  often  in- 
dulge in  social  company ;  this  tends  to  divert 
the  mind  from  its  austere  pursuits,  and  breaks 
in  upon  those  strong  associations  which  else 
might  lead  to  evil  consequences.  The  sage 
in  Ra.-selas.  says.  -  If  I  am  accidentally  lefV 
alone  for  a  few  hours,  my  inveterate  persua- 
sion rushes  upon  my  soul :    and  my  thoughts 


(    45     ) 

are  chained  down  by  an  irresistable  violence  : 
but  they  are  soon  disentangled  by  the  Prince's 
conversation ;  and  are  instantaneously  releas- 
ed at  the  entrance  of  Pekuah." 

Another  preventive  means,  is  never  to  en- 
gage in  study  just  before  retiring  to  rest,  for 
besides  the  corporeal  effects  produced  by  loss 
of  sleep,  from  the  associations  thus  excited,  con- 
tinuing to  act  after  the  voluntary  exertion  of 
attention  has  ceased,  these  associations  make 
a  much  deeper  impression  on  the  mind  in  the 
darkness  and  silence  of  night  than  during  the 
interruptions  and  variety  of  the  day. 

With  the  means  enumerated,  must  be  used 
exercise  of  body,  which  preserves  it  as  a  ma- 
chine in  proper  order  to  be  acted  on  by  the 
friind. 

For  the  cure  of  the  Diseases  of  Genius,  we 
refer  to  the  writings  of  Rush,  whose  compre- 
hensive mind  was  much  applied  to  this  subject : 
and  gladly  ought  wTe  to  receive  the  instructions 
of  such  a  man  on  any  subject.  The  powers  of 
his  Genius  were  so  guided  as  to  be  productive 
oflastinggoodto  his  country  and  to  mankind. 


(    46     ) 

His  enemies,  whilst  they  prowl  around  his 
grave  and  vainly  endeavour  to  tear  thence  the 
laurel  which  will  ever  be  green  over  it,  still 
profit  by  his  labours.  When  the  ephemeral 
fame  of  such  men  is  withered,  and  their  names 
are  repeated  by  no  tongue, — Rush  must  be 
remembered  as  one  than  whom  the  Medical 
Profession  can  boast  none  greater — none 
better ! 


FINIS. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing, 
as  provided  by  the  rules  of  the  Library  or  by  special  ar- 
rangement with  the  Librarian  in  charge. 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

«■***•-                .       - 

C28'63S)M50 

IBS 

srr9 

I    * 


